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Agence France-Presse

Rescuers believe it could take at least another two weeks to free miners trapped underground in eastern China, dashing hopes of an imminent retrieval for a group that has already spent 12 days entombed by an explosion.
The increasingly desperate attempt to save 21 workers has been further complicated by a massive blockage that has delayed drilling efforts, according to state media.
“The obstacles are just too huge, which means we need a least another 15 days or even more to reach the miners,” said Gong Haitao, deputy head of the local publicity department, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
The debris standing in the way weighed about 70 tonnes, Gong said.


The blast at the Hushan mine in Shandong province sealed 22 workers hundreds of metres underground on January 10.
On Sunday, contact was made with 11 miners stuck at one location about 580 metres (1,900 feet) below the surface, and much-needed food and medical supplies were lowered down to them.
One of the group was seriously injured in the initial explosion and was confirmed dead after suffering head injuries and falling into a coma.
A 12th miner is believed to be trapped on his own, 100 metres further down in rising waters.
For the other 10 miners, hopes are dwindling as they have not been heard from since the explosion.

To extract the group, rescuers are trying to widen one of the shafts to eventually allow the workers to be brought up to the surface.
But progress has been slow because they are drilling through granite, according to officials.
State television footage on Friday showed large piles of unearthed debris at the rescue site, and a drill boring down through a deep shaft.
One worker confirmed dead in Chinese gold mine blast
Xinhua reported that the miners had been trying to help search for the missing group using laser pointers and loudspeakers, but had received no reply.
Rescuers have lowered life detectors and nutrient solutions into other sections of the mine as well, without response.
Mining accidents are common in China, where the industry has a poor safety record and regulations are often weakly enforced.
In December, 23 workers died after becoming stuck underground in the southwestern city of Chongqing.


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China gold mine blast: rescue of 21 people trapped will take at least two more weeks, official says

Attempts to rescue 21 Chinese workers from a gold mine have been complicated by a massive blockage that has delayed drilling efforts. Photo: Reuters

People work on a mound near the Hushan gold mine, where workers are trapped underground after the January 10 explosion, in Qixia, Shandong province, China January 21, 2021. REUTERS/Aly Song

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Rescuers arrive at the Songzao coal mine in Chongqing municipality where 16 miners died on Sunday when carbon monoxide levels rose as a result of a fire. Photo: Xinhua

An aerial view of the Songzao coal mine in southwest China’s Chongqing municipality, where 16 workers died in a mining accident on Sunday. Photo: Xinhua

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Rescuers carry a survivor of a flooding accident in a coal mine in Sichuan province last week. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese rescuers race to save 22 trapped by gold mine blast

Emergency personnel work on Tuesday to reach more than 20 people trapped underground by a blast at a gold mine in Qixia, Shandong province. Photo: Xinhua

(210112) -- QIXIA, Jan. 12, 2021 (Xinhua) -- Aerial photo taken on Jan. 12, 2021 shows the rescue site of a gold mine in Qixia City, east China's Shandong Province. More than 300 rescuers have joined the search for 22 workers who were trapped underground after an explosion ripped through a gold mine under construction in Shandong, local authorities said Tuesday. (Xinhua/Wang Kai)

(210112) -- QIXIA, Jan. 12, 2021 (Xinhua) -- Rescuers are seen at the explosion site of a gold mine in Qixia City, east China's Shandong Province, Jan. 12, 2021. More than 300 rescuers have joined the search for 22 workers who were trapped underground after an explosion ripped through a gold mine under construction in Shandong, local authorities said Tuesday. (Xinhua/Wang Kai)

One worker confirmed dead in Chinese gold mine blast

Rescuers plan to widen a shaft to bring the trapped workers to the surface. Photo: Weibo

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Obstacles are ‘just too huge, which means we need a least another 15 days or even more to reach the miners’, according to deputy head of the local publicity department
Blast at the Hushan mine in Shandong province sealed 22 workers hundreds of metres underground on January 10



Obstacles are ‘just too huge, which means we need a least another 15 days or even more to reach the miners’, according to deputy head of the local publicity department.


Safety in China